world of men's style / fashion / grooming

An UrbanDaddy Publication

01/15/2014

Who Is This Guy? (Hint: He’s One of the Kempt 100)

Kempt Staff

The Kempt 100 is our definitive list of the 100 best-dressed men of the past 100 years.

Forty down, 60 to go. We check in at the halfway point of our list with the athletes, aristocrats, writers, fashion designers and... other guys who didn’t quite make the cut for our lists of Legends and Gods. Among them: Gay Talese (above). Also among them: ... well, you’ll just have to see.

THE ATHLETES

David BeckhamThe takeaway: Every part of a suit—the jacket, the pants, the shirt, the tie knot—should fit precisely to your body.

Walter Hagen (left)The takeaway: Even if you’re a little bigger, even if you’re just spending a day on the links, those are no reasons not to dress like you give a fuck. (Fun fact: Hagen is said to have traveled with a second limo, which was tasked solely with carrying his clothes.)

Jean-Claude KillyThe takeaway: Even bundling up doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice on fit or style.

John McEnroeThe takeaway: Somehow this all just works. No one carries himself with more swagger on and off the court.

THE ARISTOCRATS

Prince CharlesThe takeaway: Find something that works and stick with it. And if “something that works” is perfectly tailored peak-lapel double-breasted jackets, then it helps to have a prince-sized budget...

Samuel BeckettThe takeaway: Some might argue Sam’s breaking some rules here, but if you wear it like you give zero fucks, no one will care. (Also, this list brought to you by the Confederated Turtleneck Manufacturers of America.)

Ernest HemingwayThe takeaway: If you ever want to feel all of the emotions—joy, melancholy, fright, anger—image Google Hemingway. He’s unfailingly dressed like a man who could care less what you think of him, but he’s still dressed well because he’s a man who cared what he thought of himself.

Jack Kerouac The takeaway: Even undershirts looked cooler back in the day.

Gay TaleseThe takeaway: Want to stand out in a crowd? Try a perfectly tailored suit.